The middle blooms just started drooping and turning brown. So far the online research I've done points to a possible fungus. There are spots on some leaves, but not all of them. I'll do a little more research, but in the meantime, has anyone else seen this? Any advice?
In more positive news, we found a volunteer tomato plant out amongst the weeds beyond our property line. Sometimes we toss half-eaten or rotten tomatoes and squash over the fence and into the weeds and trees where the squirrels, wild rabbits, and birds pick at them. (Side note: If the critters bother to come to the deck to eat my veggies, I wish they would just finish them here). My husband was walking around the common areas of our development over the weekend and noticed this tomato plant. We think it came from the seeds of a tomato we tossed over last summer. He dug it up and put it in a pot; it even has a tomato growing on it! We're not sure what kind of tomato it is, and it doesn't look too good now, but I hope it survives. It's a bonus tomato plant!
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| 3 of the 5 foster kittens |
Lastly--posting may be infrequent over the next four weeks. I volunteer at our local animal shelter and we're fostering five adorable stray kittens--three boys and two girls. They're underweight but gaining steadily and super playful, cute, and time consuming. We need to get their weight up and get them used to household noises and being handled by humans before we return them to the shelter so they can go up for adoption. Our resident cat is curious and friendly (and trying to be nonchalant about being so curious). It's going to be extremely difficult to send them back. They're cuter than baby tomatoes!
I'm going to miss your posts. Good luck fostering the kittens. What a kind heart you have.
ReplyDeleteoh so cute kitties! nice bonus tomato, that's awesome, i wonder what kind it will be. i hope you figure out what's wrong with the hydrangea...maybe it would help to remove any parts that are dead or that look even slightly diseased?
ReplyDelete@GirlSprout--I'll still be posting, I just think it may be a little irregular. I stil have so many pics and notes to organize about the progress of my garden, but then I hear little meows and I put off playing on the internet to play with the kittens.:)
ReplyDelete@Emily--yes, I removed the dead leaves and flowers but before I do more I wanted to do some more research. I hope it doesn't affect the rest of the plant. :(
ReplyDeleteAdorable little kitties! But your hydrangea looks so odd. I've never seen anything like this and I will be interested in your diagnosis.
ReplyDeleteThose kittens are so adorable -- how kind of you to foster them. We can't foster here... we keep everything they give us. We fostered a child and adopted him, fostered a Cavalier and adopted her, DH says NO MORE FOSTERS LOL.
ReplyDeleteAs for the hydrangea, it looks and sounds like root rot to me, which is a fungal problem that usually you see a little later in the season, but I also don't know what your weather was like either, so it might be right on target for that.
I would Google hydrangea root rot. I'm not sure how to treat it. When I have had root rot in my lavender, I have cut and rooted the tops using root hormone, discarded the rest of the plant, and dug out the contaminated soil and replaced it with fresh.
Wish I could help more. I don't know anything about rooting hydrangeas but that might be your best bet.
So sorry this happened... it looks like it was a stunner.
@CathyandSteve-LOL! I think we'll end up keeping one of them too as a buddy for our cat. How kind of you to foster too! Thanks for the hydrangea tip, I've come across some root rot info, but it's so frustrating to not be able to find pictures. I'll keep searching.
ReplyDeleteThe kittens are adorable. I too would have a hard time letting them leave. I never had a kitten, but have two cats I got as strays. Kittens are the definition of cute.
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to see what you find out about the hydrangea! Sorry, but I'm of no good help there. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd you are busy rescuing cats & tomatoes...how grand! I can't imagine having to send them back.